The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-04-01

She was undoubtedly i'll and he
sympatbized with her. She was pretty
aud he admired her. But the low
type of face, with the narrow, sloping
forehead, the furlve eyes and the weak
willed mouth and chin, told her char
actcr 50 unmistakably that an idea sug-
gested itself to him which he welcomed
with delight. A fig for his resolves !
Here was way out of his difficulties
"What is the time of your daugh-
ters attack"
"The fit will come to her at H."
81 will cure her y
"Thou! Art thou physician ?"
81 have studied with the wisest
where wisdom dwells. Let your
daughter 10 az | direct and the ague
will depart from her."
cart thou williug, Jess ?" asked the
mother.
The girl turred her head, but the
strangers eyes we're on her, aud she
whispered "Yes.'
"Then / will be back in a brief
space. go to seek some potent herbs
under tie rays of the young Moon"
The student went out laughing to
himself at his new device and thinking
over the part he was to play. He
walked down the garden, jumped the
palings, crossed the meadow and fol-
lowed for a time the bank of the
stream, whose ripples cleaned with the
silver sprinkles from the moon.
A leaf of herb robert he took, then
sprig of dogs m rcuby, then small
coltsfoot and jack-sauce-by-the hedge,
then some scorpion grass, then a four
leafed paris and twig of broom.
Then he returned to the kitchen ''look
ing unutterable things" and laid his
leaves on the table, the coltsfoot at
one end, the herb robert at the other,
the scorpion grass and dogs mercury
in the middle, with the broom next to
the paris. Then be put the leaves in
a cup and rubbed them together for a
time, whispering to himself so as to be
heard by the invalid.
"Eta, zeta, theta, phi; kappa, delta,
lambda, pi; sigma, gamma, beta, mu;
alpha, tau, epsilon, nu; psi, Chi, upsilon,
rho; kyklopedeia may the ague 90 ~
Then he opened the window that the
moon might shine in the cup, and he
took out some Of the leaves and rolled
them in strip of parchment about the
size of cigarette paper, which he cut
from his pockebook. Then he tied
the roll with silken string and sealed
il, but he did not use his own seal, for
he pressed on the wax leaf of scor-
pion grass which he had accidently
dropped on the floor.
ga piece of riband," he said to the
hostess, the first words he had address
ed to her since he entered with the
leaves, "and pen and ink" and while
she was gone be emptied the cup on
the fire.
To each end of his tiny cylinder he
tied piece of rband, and with the
pen and ink he scrawled on the parch-
ment the Greek letters in his remark
able charm, repeating the words as he
did so.
Snow give me thy wrist" he said to
the girl; and as he knctted the riband
his eyes searched into hers and seemed
to look through them down every
nerve in the body.
"Wear that he said, as he finished
the knot, "and the sickness will never
return to you. Rest and fear not.
Farewell till the dawn ~
And in great grandeur he stalked
off to bed. A thing is not worth do
lug at all if it is not worth doing well,
and this our student knew. To have
stayed and watched for the result of
his audacious piece of foolery would
have been too severe trial for him.
So he went to bed and laughed ; and
then somehow the laughter thinned
away. And he was just beginning TO
reproach hims.lf when he dropped off
to sleep.
In the morning there came knock
ing at his door.
"Who's there ?"
'1ts long past dawn said the host
"What do you want?"
"My daughter had never a fit last
night
'Nor will she have again. 'Tis well,'
said the stranger, as impressively as he
could manage.
When he came down he found the
breakfast ready.
81 desire no breakfast" he said, Il
cannot pay you"
"Pay mel said the hostess. "You
have given me my daughters life, and
it is | should pay yon. You are
welcome TO all you have had and all
you can take now"
The charm had had its effect. The
girls nervous nature had yielded to
the mans stronger will, and the ague
had been defeated. And, what is more,
the sickness did not return to her.
The student miracle worker there
fore finished his breakfast and with
profuse thanks from the mother and
child, rode away. He never saw the
widow again. But from the moment
he caught the last glimpse Of her out
ia the road at the end of the avenue of
elms, whose limpy, hanging leaves
Weie trelhulluS W ldll, ne udteu new
life. He returned to college to work.
lu February, 1868, he was called to
bar, and rose quickly into notice as a
first rate lawyer and successful advo
cate. He became recorder of London,
to be removed from his office by James
ii for his opposition to the court meas
ures and when William Ill sought the
filtest man to purify the bench and
make the law respected, he chose for
the lord chef justlceship of England
the curer of the landlady's daughter,
Sir John Holt,
How he fulfilled his duties during
the twenty-one years he held his posi-
tion we can leave to Macaulay and the
other historians to tell He stood up
for the law against the epcroachment
of monarch and parliament, and he it
was who sci the example of that spirit
and temper which has distinguished
our judges. When Lord Somers left
the ohancellorship it was offered TO
Sir John, but he declined it. He felt